Author Interview: S.S. Michaels

Today we're interviewing author S.S. Michaels aka slushpilehero for all her twitter stalkers.  :)  She can be found online at twitter and wordpress.  

BIO: S. S. Michaels has a B.S. in Business Administration and a M.A. in Media & Visual Arts. She has worked for such entities as Scott Free (Ridley Scott), dick clark productions, inc. (The American Music Awards, The Golden Globe Awards, Arista Records 25^th Anniversary Celebration, etc.), and CBS. She has lived abroad, traveled widely, driven a race car, and jumped out of an airplane. She has completed two novels and has others in the works. A handful of her short stories have appeared in various publications. She writes from her home in the South, where she lives with her husband, two kids, two dogs, and a swarm of inhospitable sand gnats. She is represented by The McVeigh Agency.

JS:  What have been the most rewarding aspects of being a writer?

SM:  I don’t have to put up with co-workers and I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.

JS:  The most challenging?

SM:  Finding appropriate agent representation. Querying was hell. It was a tremendous learning process, and I had some really good experiences come out of it (not to mention a couple of bad ones), but it just seemed to take a lot of time and a lot of energy. I had plenty of requests for material, so that wasn’t a problem. Just waiting on decisions and the ones that were “almost” practically killed me – I have a lot more gray hair now and my fingernails are just beginning to grow back.

JS:  What would you say are the most important qualities one needs to possess in order to make a living as a full-time writer?

SM:  To “make a living”? Is that possible? I don’t know, but I imagine it takes a highly active imagination, self-discipline, a thick skin, life experience, an ability to sculpt with the written word, courage, a tireless and well-connected agent, and a super-charged metabolism (you know, so your butt doesn’t outgrow your chair).

JS:  Why do you write?

SM:  I can’t help it, I just do.

JS:  What's a typical day like for you?

SM:  Um, get the kids off to school, fire up the laptop, turn on some music, and then write until the school day is over. I update my blog when the mood moves me, I work on projects with my agent, and I do a little networking via Twitter. Sometimes I read. Oh, and I play with my dogs, too – they’re attention hogs.

JS:  Do you ever experience writer's block? If so, how do you work through it?

SM:  There’s no such thing as writer’s block.

JS:  How long does it generally take to write one of your novels?

SM:  Rough drafts can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months. SHORT BUS HERO, for example, took about three weeks, while ST. JAKE (working title) has taken months and I’m still nowhere near the end (researching economics and terrorism is taking longer than I expected).

JS:  What's your favorite quotation?

SM:  During the time when I was turning my screenplay POP ART into my first novel, I read Stephen King’s LISEY’S STORY. I had been having doubts about whether or not I could finish an entire novel, and one line from King’s book really spoke to me: “I will holler you home.” The first “grown-up” novel I can remember reading was THE SHINING, when I was ten or something. I was a die-hard King fan throughout high school, and then kind of gravitated towards other things as I floated through adulthood. LISEY’S STORY was the first King book I’d read in many years, and, I don’t know, it did kind of feel like being “hollered home” to reading as well as to writing.

JS:  What are you working on now?

SM:  At the moment, I’m working on a novel called HAPPY ENDINGS, INC.

It’s my interpretation of a zombie story. It’s about breathing life back into the business of death. These days, people have relatives all over the country, and it’s so expensive to load the family on a plane and fly out to Uncle Roy’s funeral, right? Well, Caleb Exley, sole heir to his uncle’s funeral empire, has some new ideas about giving customers a proper send-off, one they can share with far-flung relatives at a fraction of the cost of airfare. It’s kind of like Weekend at Bernie’s meets Ghost Adventures, with a dash of Savannah history and real reanimation science thrown in there for the intellectuals.  

JS:  What do you think is one of the biggest misconceptions aspiring novelists have of the writer's life?

SM:  Hmmm… I really don’t know what “aspiring novelists” think about a “writer’s life,” so I can’t really say. My biggest misconception: most writers are snobs – turning out to be totally false. I’m finding that horror writers, especially, are very nice people.

As for the “writer’s life” I lead… um… is there a specific stereotype I’m supposed to be propagating? I mean, I don’t go around wearing black turtlenecks and chain smoking or drinking myself into oblivion in the Florida Keys or anything. Am I doing it wrong?

JS:  What advice would you impart to these aspiring novelists?

SM:  Write good stories, of course. Nothing else matters.

JS:  You’ve written 2 complete novels and you’re working on 2 more and all have been picked up by your agent to sell, how do you handle having a deadline now?  Does that make it easier or harder?

SM:  I don’t really have a deadline yet. I’m just cruising along at my own speed. I like deadlines, though – I’m a world-class procrastinator, so deadlines actually help me get more work done.

JS:  Where did the inspiration for SHORT BUS HERO come from?

SM:  My sister-in-law. She is a rabid wrestling fan who would give the shirt off her back to anyone. I imagined what a fit she would have if her favorite wrestler got canned and what she might do to help him. She is such a sweet person and is so much fun – and she’s always seemed to me like she should be a character in a book. (She also happens to have Down syndrome.)

JS:  What do you hope your readers take away after they’re done reading?

SM:  The knowledge that people with Down syndrome are truly special. Even though they can be super stubborn!

JS:  Tell me a little about SHORT BUS HERO.

SM:  SHORT BUS HERO is the story of a young woman with Down syndrome who hits it big in the lottery, and instead of using the money to fund a group home for herself and her similarly-abled friends, she insists on giving it to her favorite out-of-work pro wrestler.

I really wrote the story for my sister-in-law and for my mother-in-law. They are two of my biggest supporters.

JS:  That is truly spectacular. They must be very proud of how far you’ve come.  Thanks for sharing this with us and I hope to see you on the bestseller’s list soon.  Make sure to keep in touch, so I can pass along the information about where to purchase your books from.  

Tip Thursday: 10 tips for Fiction Writers

Here's just a few tips I've used that have been beneficial to me.  It's probably close to essential for me actually and I'd like to think that it's probably close to that for all fiction writers out there.

Start With a Seed

Most, if not all, of my books are simply a product of asking the question, “What if…?”  That's all it usually takes and then let your imagination run wild.  There are no constraints in fiction, except the ones you put on yourself, so start tiny and work big. 

Let the Story Tell Itself

Think of yourself as only the narrator of someone else's life.  In the newage sense of the word, your "channeling" someone else's reality and cataloging what happens.  It's okay to plot, but don't get so caught up in your outline that your not letting the characters be themselves.  

Use Realistic Characters and Dialogue

This is accomplished through many different approaches.  As a writer, you must learn to hone your powers of observation and watch people and how they interact.  Research can come in a variety of forms, from reading other authors to watching movies as well.  Keen observation skills and personal experience will help guide you through this aspect of fiction writing.

Write What You Know

This is a well-known mantra for fiction writers, yet many fail to adhere to this simple principle of fiction writing.  When you write about things you know and experiences you’ve had, the writing is easier to read and comes across as more authentic.  Another thing is to write in the genre you read.  Don't start writing Sci-Fi if you've never and have no interest in seeing Star Trek(or any other Science Fiction staple).  

Become a "shut in"

When you’re ready to start, find a place away from distraction  If you are planning on writing a long work of fiction, you will essentially be “living in the story.”  Be prepared to shut yourself in as you work on bringing your tale to life.  Turn the phones off, as well as the Internet.  Let your significant others know you'll be unavailable from this time to this time.  If you have kids, this will be a bit harder, but it can be done.

Keep Moving Forward

Don’t get caught up in the past; keep writing each day without taking time to go back and reread.  You'll have time to fix everything later.  Even if you only spend 10 or 15 minutes everyday writing, it'll keep you on the right track and stave off writer's block.  

Put it Away When You’re Finished

When you're finished, put it away.  Shove it in a drawer, ignore the file on your harddrive.  Whatever it takes to let it sit and settle for awhile.  I usually send mine to a critique partner and it can take anywhere from 2 days to 2 months to get your ms back, so you'll have a decent length of time between the finish and the revisions.  In the meantime...

Start a New Project

Get started right away on a new WIP to increase the space between you and your previous work.  This will help you to come back with a new perspective and keep your productivity level high in the process.  Not to mention keeping your creative juices flowing.

Return to Your Finished Product

After some time has passed, pull out your manuscript and read the piece with a pair of fresh eyes.  Chances are you will find ways to improve upon and revise the story to make it flow more smoothly.  Sometimes it will unfortunately mean rewriting it.  As what happened to me with my first, FALLEN.  I went back with fresh eyes and realized how horrible it was.  Now I've rewritten it, given it a new title and it's MUCH better than it was.  

Revise and Edit

Cuts will have to be made and the revision process can be time consuming, but will help out when you’re ready to share your work with at least 5 beta readers.  Make sure that you polish your work as much as possible before giving it out to others for their opinions.  Eliminating clutter and proofreading errors will help to get honest feedback without trivial details getting in the way.  Keep in mind though, that no matter how well you edit, there will always be something you miss and don't let it fluster you.  No one is perfect.


I hope these 10 tips helped and gave you a little insight on how I do my writing process.  How do you write?  Is there something you do that I didn't mention?  Go ahead and post your answers in the comments section.

Hooks in Books or The first line phenomenon.

Can you tell me which books these first lines are from (no cheating now.  The answers will be given at the bottom of the post)?

Call me Ishmael.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

The Miss Lonelyhearts of the New York Post-Dispatch (Are you in trouble?—Do-you-need-advice?—Write-to-Miss-Lonelyhearts-and-she-will-help-you) sat at his desk and stared at a piece of white cardboard.

You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. 

As I've been reading and rating a lot of "First Pages" on Webook, I've noticed several things.  There are a lot of great sounding books, but their first pages do nothing for the book.  In my quest for a dream agent, I've come to find that THE most important thing you can do is make your first page(really your first line) exciting.  You have to hook 'em.  Whether it be your readers or your publisher/agent.

While that doesn't mean you have to have the character in imminent peril if that isn't what your book is about, but it does mean making it interesting.  And it has to make the "reader" ask a question.  There has to be a reason to keep reading.

Whenever I go into a bookstore there are three things that have to be done before I pick up a book I've never heard of before.  The cover has to be good, then the back cover blurb has to be exciting, and then I read the first page.  Now while, I may buy a book anyway, if I don't like one of the three, the biggest determining factor is that first line and then the first page.

If I don't like the first line, I probably will read on to see if it gets better, but after the first page if I still don't like it, or it doesn't give me a reason to keep reading, why should I?

Of course, for every rule there are exceptions.  Take Twilight, for example, I only bought it because my friend said I should, so I did.  I HATED, and still do, the first three chapters, but since I bought it, I forced myself to keep reading and I got hooked on the story and finished the rest of the series over the weekend.  So, had I applied my rule, I would have missed out on a great story.  Now I won't debate with people about how good or bad Twilight is.  I have my own issues with it, but the truth is it's a best-seller and there's a reason for it, probably because she's so good with the emotional aspects of her books.

Now how do we get to that all important part of this ramble.  How do we make sure that our first line is great?

1. Sentence Style.  Basically what this means is that the sentence must be concise.  This doesn't mean it can't be long, but it needs to make sense.  It definitely needs to be structured correctly so that the reader doesn't feel as if it's a mouthful.
2. It should make the reader ask a question.  Basically this part is your hook.  This doesn't necessarily need to be in the very first sentence, but if not it needs to be in the first paragraph.  Give your reader a reason to keep reading.  Let it be a hint of what's to come and set the tone for the book.  If it's a comedy, open with something funny.  If it's a horror, something scary, etc.
3. It needs to be relevant.  Since this line sets the tone for the rest of the book, don't just add in something that sounds interesting or funny, but has nothing to do with the story.  It'll only cause your readers to stop reading that much faster.  Readers are smart, they'll figure it out.
4. It needs to allow for setup.  You shouldn't toss your readers in the middle of a scene where no one knows what's going on.  It's distracting, chaotic, and of course another reason not to keep going.  People don't like feeling confused.  They want to feel like they've got a good handle on something before they continue.




‘Call Me Ishmael’ – Moby Dick, and is one of the most famous in American Literature.

‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ – Cheeky set up, this one: Pride and Prejudice.

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.'-- Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. One of those long sentences he's famous for, but as you can see it follows almost every step to the T.


'The Miss Lonelyhearts of the New York Post-Dispatch (Are you in trouble?—Do-you-need-advice?—Write-to-Miss-Lonelyhearts-and-she-will-help-you) sat at his desk and stared at a piece of white cardboard.' -- Nathanael West Miss Lonelyhearts.  An interesting set up that almost begs you to keep reading to find out what's going on.  


'You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter.' -- Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Maybe not the most grammatically correct first sentence, but it sets the tone nicely for the rest of the book.  


Did you get them all?  I'm sure you did.  Enjoy the rest of Monday and I'll see you tomorrow with another Teaser Tuesday.  And don't forget to check out my new feature Writer Wednesday where I'll interview someone from the publishing industry.  This week is a very special guest.  One of my friends and an awesome Epic fantasy novelist,  MJ Heiser.  She'll be talking about her debut novel, Corona, and will offer her advice to newbie and aspiring writers.  

Tip Thursday: Show vs Tell

Here's an excellent post on Show vs Tell by Carolyn Kaufman.  (Reposted from http://querytracker.blogspot.com/search?q=show+vs+tell)

“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most oft-repeated pieces of advice writers receive. But what exactly does that mean? And when is it better to tell than show?

Last week during Open Mic Monday, Lady Glamis asked, Can you think of instances where it is appropriate to "tell" instead of "show"? Yes, we can, and I'll share some of them toward the end of this post, but since a lot of writers struggle with showing vs. telling, first I want to tackle how to show rather than tell.

When you give someone the Rorschach inkblot test, you go through 12 cards with ambiguous inkblots — twice. The first time, you ask the person to tell youwhat she sees. The second time, you ask her to show you how she sees it, so you can see it just the way she does. Was it the texture of the inkblot that made her see what she did? The shading? The color? The shape?

When you show your readers what’s happening, you’re doing the same thing — helping them see your story just the way you do. And your goal is not to show them a grainy youtube clip that gives them vague impressions — you want to show them your story in big-screen high-def, complete with a killer 7.1 speaker sound system, tastes, and smells. You want them to be there.

Tip 1: Be a connoisseur.

For me, showing is a sensual experience. I close my eyes and imagine what I would smell, hear, taste, see, and feel in my characters’ situation. Then I do my best to capture the most important of those impressions as vividly — and uniquely — as possible. I want the scene to have immediacy for my reader. When writers tell, they are usually looking at the scene but not listening or touching or smelling or tasting. They’re not slowing down long enough to capture the most outstanding details or pick the most exciting verb.

Here’s a lifeless telling sentence: The bad guys suddenly shot out the tires on the good guys’ SUV.

Time to stop and ask questions about all five senses, using the most descriptive verbs you can find.

* What do your characters see? Does the SUV spin out of control, making the scenery whirl by as if the good guys were on a carousel? If your character is a racecar driver who’s lost control of a speeding car on multiple occasions, his impressions are going to be different from those of someone who just learned to drive.
* What do your characters feel? Does the SUV jolt to a halt? Does the SUV drop closer to the ground? Does the SUV slam into a curb? Do the airbags marshmallow out of the dash, crushing your characters into their seats?
* What do your characters smell and taste? Can they smell rubber burning as it’s dragged across the asphalt? Can they taste their own fear? What does that taste like?
* What do your characters hear? Having blown a tire, I can tell you that the explosion of one bursting is as loud and startling as gunfire. But what else do your characters hear? Other cars screeching to a halt around them?

If this all seems like a lot of work for one sentence, it is, but as you get used to asking questions like this, you’ll start to do it automatically, and the showing will come quicker and easier.

Here is how I rewrote the line for my story. Note two things. First, that there are almost no adjectives — both sentences are carried by strong verbs. Second, I didn’t go on and on about all the different details. This is happening fast, so I have to emphasize only the sensory information that is most important.

More gunfire, and both of the front tires burst, dropping the SUV onto its axle. Metal screamed against asphalt, and a shower of sparks hissed past my open door.

Tip 2: Use active verbs, not adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives and adverbs tell; verbs show. Strong verbs make your writing vivid and real.

Adjectives and adverbs don’t move the action forward. Nothing is happening with an adjective or adverb; it just sits there on the page and tries to look pretty. For example, if I tell you about an escalator that is tall and silver but standing still, there is absolutely no movement in the sentence. If, on the other hand, I tell you the escalator looms over my character,mocking her with its steely teeth, you have a whole different feel for the escalator. It’s doingthings. Scary things.

It’s not very interesting if I tell you that Raven was a clutz. You have to make up the details for yourself. That’s not the case if I add a more information so you can see the scene for yourself: The bell rang, startling Raven, and she bumped her textbook and sent a sheaf of papers tumbling to the floor. She had to wait until her classmates had clambered over her to clean up the mess. Her face hot, she stuffed the pages into her bag, jammed her pen into her purse, and stood so fast she nearly knocked over the man who stood there.

Tip 3: Pick something unique to emphasize about your main characters.

This is going to sound harsh, but nobody cares if your main character has dark hair and hazel eyes. So do millions of other people. You need to pick one or two extraordinary characteristics and emphasize them well enough that your readers could pick your character out of a lineup.

Over time, personality becomes etched into the lines of the face and body, so try to emphasize a physical characteristic that reveals character. Maybe your heroine hunches her shoulders as if she’s fighting a strong wind; maybe her black hair is braided so tight it looks like a licorice stick. I find that when I exaggerate a characteristic, that can help. So rather than just saying your character has flowing black hair, you say her black hair gushes over her shoulders and eddies into the small of her back.

Example: The angular planes of his face turned the soft light into a study in contrasts, and in that context, what might have been a sensual mouth merely looked hard. His cheekbones were high, angry slashes, a sentiment echoed by the frown between his brows.

And rather than telling you that my hero is insouciant but intense and that my heroine finds him attractive, I can show you:

He sprawled against the far wall, the exposed flesh of his chest bronzed and glistening in the heat. A gold piece lay at the end of the chain around his neck.

Had she been forced to describe him without using licentious language, she would have said that the lines of his face were aristocratic. In the uneven light, his eyes appeared black, but their intensity, not their color, was what fascinated her.

Telling vs. Showing

In spite of the magic of showing, sometimes it’s better to tell. Here are a few of those times.
* During transitions. When you just need to get from one day to the next, don’t worry about the evening sunset, the darkness of night, and the morning mist. Just say something like “The next day…”
* When you’re summarizing something that happened during a transition. Let’s say your character had a fight with her boyfriend before she left for work in the morning, and you want to convey that she has an okay rest of the day. You can write something like, “She made it through class and the rest of the afternoon without incident” and let it go at that.
* When you’re talking about a minor character who isn’t important to the story.

Your Job

Go through every sentence of your manuscript and make sure three things are true:
1. Every single sentence and word furthers the story. It moves us forward. It shows us something crucial. This is why it’s important to just choose a few details, not overload the reader with every. single. one.
2. You have used vivid verbs, not just-sitting-there adjectives, to show your readers what is happening.
3. You have closed your eyes and thought about the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches in each scene. That you have shown your reader enough of that sensory information that they are experiencing the scene the same way you are.

Teaser Tuesday: Mirror Image

Going back to MIRROR IMAGE for this week's Teaser Tuesday.  


This scene takes place as Lily realizes she's not in love with Tyler and that she's starting to have feelings for Jackson.

“Tell me a secret?” Jackson asked.

“A secret?”

“Yeah.  Tell me something no one else knows.”

I shook my head and gave him a coy smile.  “It won’t be a secret if I tell you.”

He crept closer to the mirror.  “Please, Tiger Lily, I promise not to tell anyone.”

I giggled.  “Who would you tell?”

“Exactly.”

“All right.”  I took a breath. “I still have my baby blanket.”

He smiled at me.  “Really?”

“Um hmm.” I got up and pulled open a drawer.  Inside was my pink baby blanket.  It was ratty and torn in a few places, but otherwise intact.  I held it up.  “See?”

He laughed as I tucked it back into the drawer and sat again.  “That’s very interesting,” he said.

“Your turn.”

He thought for a second and then said, “My mom has this fake flower arrangement in the front room and she likes it to be just so and it drives her crazy if it isn’t.  Every night before I go to bed, I turn it a quarter of a turn to the left.  When I get up in the morning, it’s back to its original position.”

I burst out laughing.  “Oh, that’s bad.  Does she know it’s you who’s doing it?”

“Probably.  Who else would it be?”

“True.”

“Give me another,” he said, sending me one of his heart stopping smiles.

“I count the steps if I’m going up the stairs.”

“Toilet paper has to be over the roll, not under.”

“I know what I’m going to wear for three days in advance.”

“I have to let my ice-cream melt a little before I can eat it.”

“I never step on sidewalk cracks.”

            “Neither do I,” he gasped.  We were both laughing so hard we couldn’t catch our breath or finish our list.  Every time we’d stop, we’d look at each other and it would start all over again.

            Finally, when we’d stopped laughing, he said, “Tell me another secret.”

            “Another? Like what?”

            “How about what do you secretly want to be?  Every one has one.” He grinned at me.

I thought about it and then glanced at the door.  “I’ve always wanted to be a singer.”

            He raised an eyebrow and a strange look crept into his eyes.  “A singer?”

            “Yeah, but I’ve never been brave enough to do anything about it. That’s why you always hear me singing in here.  It’s the only place I’m brave enough to do it. I never realized anyone could hear me. I’ve wanted to be a singer ever since I was a little girl and I heard Jewel on the radio. I know it’s the smart thing to go to college and get my degree, but what I really want to do, is audition for American Idol.”

            “What is that?” he asked.

            “Uh, it’s a show where people from all over the country audition in front of people who’ve been in the business awhile and then they go on TV and sing in front of the whole country and people vote.  By the end of the season, whoever is last wins a recording contract.”

            “So, why don’t you do it?  Your voice is beautiful.  You’d win for sure.”

            I laughed “No.  I doubt that. One of the judges is a real ass, but he’s good and he knows what sells.  I heard him sing once.  He was awesome.  I’m sure he’d chew me up and spit me out.”

            “I don’t think so, Lily.  I’d bet he’d be singing your praises when you finished. No pun intended.  You’d be rich and famous.”

            I shrugged.  “My parents wouldn’t like that at all.  They’d never let me.”

            “Yeah, I know the feeling.  I tried starting a band once.  My mom put the brakes on that one immediately.”

            I chuckled and scooted my legs underneath me.  “You tried starting a band?  That’s so cool. ”

            “Yeah, I wanted to be the next Ricky Solano.”

            “Who’s Ricky Solano?”

            “Only the best lead singer for a rock band there is.  Hold on.” He ran over to his desk and a few seconds later music flowed from his speakers, a male voice crooning in direct contrast to the edgy beat

            After a few bars, I found myself bobbing my head along with it.  “Yeah, okay. I’ll agree with you.  I think he’s better than a lot of the ones we have here,” I said when he turned it back off.

            He walked back toward me, a huge grin on his face, but stopped when his mother poked her head in his room.  “Jacks?  It’s almost midnight. Why are you still awake?  You have a meet in the morning.”

            He glanced at me.  “Nervous, I guess.”

            She gave a light, tinkling laugh that made me smile. I’d never seen her before, and it was impossible not to stare. She was beautiful and he looked just her, down to the green eyes that sparkled in the lamplight.  “I would be, too. This is a big one.  You want me to make you some warm milk?  It’ll help you sleep.”

            My smile grew bigger.  My mom made me warm milk too when I couldn’t sleep and it always worked.  She reminded me of my mom, especially when she walked over and ruffled his hair.  My mom always did that with Alder, but unlike Alder, Jackson only grinned up at her instead of batting her away.

 “No, Mom. I’ll be fine.  I’ll go to sleep in a few minutes.”

            She kissed him.  “You’ll be great.  You always are.”

            She glanced over at the mirror, and her eyes narrowed and she shot a look over at Jackson, but said nothing as she walked out the door.

            When she left, he came back over.  “So, you like the band?”

            “Does your mom know about me?”  I asked, ignoring his question.

            He frowned and shook his head.  “No, why?”

            “She glanced over here and I would have swore she saw me.”

            He twisted his head to look at the door.  “I don’t know how and I’m sure she’d have said something if she had.  I mean really, remember how you handled it.  Do you think she’d have handled it any better?”

            I drew my eyebrows together.  “I guess not,” I mumbled.

            He ran a finger down the mirror between my eyes.  “So, what other secrets would you like to share?”

            “Jackson,” I said, with a smile and a shake of my head.  “You have a meet in the morning.  Go to sleep.”

            “No. I haven’t gotten to talk to you all day.”

            “We’ve talked for over an hour. Besides, I’ll be here when you get back.”

“No, you won’t.  I’ll bet Ty comes over and takes you somewhere.”
            “Yes I will.” I reached over and pulled out my compact from my purse, opening it to show him the tiny mirror.  “See, I have this.  Even if I go somewhere, I’ll be able to see you.”

            He studied it carefully.  “You think it’ll work?”

            “Sure.  We’re starting to see each other easier, why wouldn’t we?  Remember, I even saw you at Ty’s house.  Twice.”

            He yawned.  “Okay,” he said.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            “Good luck! You better bring home the gold.”

            “The gold?  Why would I bring home gold?”

            I burst out laughing.  “Sorry, that’s what we say for the Olympics.  People who win first place get a gold medal.”

            “Oh.  Okay.  We just have places.  We get a trophy. Not in this one though.  It’s more of a qualifier.”

            “Qualifier?  For what?”

            “Well, it’s kind of complicated, but basically it’s the first of six races.  If I win this, then I’m considered a favorite, which is just a fancy way of saying I get a free ride into the next race.  The others who place move on too, but they have to ‘qualify’ first to see where they should be placed in the next race.  Each race gets harder and harder because only the best make it.”
            “So, what’s it for?  That Coubertin thing you told me about?”

            He puffed out his chest.  “Yep.”

            “Okay, well now you know that when I say ‘go for the gold’, I want you to win.  Which you will.”

            He grinned.  “I hope so.” He turned to walk to his bed.

            “Oh, wait,” I said and waited for him to face me.  “Does your mom take pictures?”
            He gave me a “duh” look.  “Doesn’t every mom?”

            “Good.  I want to see them.”

            “What?  Why?”

            “Well, I can’t be there to see it, but I want to.  So, I’ll have to settle for pictures.”

            He looked dumbfounded.  “You actually want to see me race?”

            I nodded eagerly.  “Yes.  Why wouldn’t I?”

            He came close to the mirror again.  “I’ve never wanted anyone at my races before, besides my mom, but I really want you there.”  He extended his hand and stroked the mirror where my cheek was.  “I’ll bring the pictures.”

            I put my hand on my cheek and could almost feel his hand under mine.  “I’ll be waiting.”

            His expression changed as the mirror glowed brighter and the feeling of his hand grew more intense.  Our eyes met and I saw his widen as we rushed to touch the mirror, but it was just as sturdy as always. 

            “Damn,” we both muttered.

            “I thought…maybe…” I said.

            “Yeah, me too,” he agreed. 

            We gazed at each other for a few more minutes, until I sighed.  “Go to sleep, Jacks.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

            He grinned.  “Do you hear what you just called me?”

            I thought back on it and bit my lip.  “Yeah. Is that okay?”

            “It’s fine.  It’s perfect. Tiger Lily.”

            “Go,” I whispered, secretly wishing he’d stay.

            “I will.”  He didn’t budge.  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

            “Yes.”

            “I’ll come home straight after the meet.”

            I closed my eyes and backed away.  “I’ll be waiting.”  He didn’t say anything else and I opened my eyes to see the mirror bouncing my image back to me.   

Professional editing: Is it worth it?

(photos courtesy of inmagine.com)

Sorry about my delay in writing a blog post for almost a week.  My cold darn near killed me.  LOL.  And then my rewrite of THE EXILED sucked me in.  J  So, my last big blog was on the benefits of self-editing, which despite this post I’m a major proponent of.  If you can’t edit yourself, hiring an editor will probably do you no good.

So, you’ve written your story and done everything you can to self edit and you’ve enlisted critique partners and beta readers, but you still think it needs work.  Well, one option is you can hire an editor.

Now the up side of this: It’s sure to make your book practically ready to publish.  The down side:  It’s expensive and doesn’t really help you if you don’t learn anything from it. 

Okay, so let’s talk about the up side.  Being professionally edited can teach you a ton of things.  If you pay attention.  You’ll learn how to beef things up, or tighten them.  You’ll learn the correct place for a semicolon or an exclamation point.  And they’ll make sure you don’t have any inconsistencies or plot holes.  They’ll help make sure that what you’re trying to say is said.  Among many other things that I just don’t know about.

Most of the editors either worked for or still work for the big publishers, so they know the current trends and can help steer your book in the right direction or let you know what book you should write instead.

For the first time writer, it may very well be a good idea, so you can learn from it.

On the other hand, it’s expensive and for a full size novel ranging at around 85,000 words, it can cost $1,000 or more.  So, not usually in the first time writer’s budget, especially when you can attend classes and conferences and learn the same thing for less.  And when you become published your agent and/or editor at the publishing house will do the same things as the paid editor.

Will it help you find that agent?  The reality is, probably not.  It’s the story they want.  Sure, they want it as good as possible, but most if not all agents are willing to spend a little editing time to make it perfect.  So, even if it’s not all the way, if they fall in love with the story they’ll still take you on.  If they don’t love it.  It doesn’t matter how well it’s written, they won’t pick it up. 

And on that same topic, most aren’t impressed with hiring professional editors.  They want to know the author can self-edit.  They want to know the writing is the author’s not just the collective efforts of paid editors.  Will it prevent you from getting an agent?  Probably not, but neither will it assure you that you will.

And if you want to go the small house route with publishing, you have another question to worry about.  Is your book going to make enough for you that it’s worth spending the money on?  It’s possible.  I won’t say it isn’t, but these are things you need to consider. 

And as all things in publishing, it’s a personal choice.  A friend of mine has done it and is happy with the results.  Another friend isn’t. 

I’m not for or against professional editing.  I know it isn’t for me.  Maybe I’ll change my mind one day, but for the moment I’m quite happy with my beta readers and critique partner. 

What’s your opinion?  Are you for or against professional editing? And tell me your reasons?